A Song Is Born
- This article is about the 1948 film. For the song, see a song is born.
| A Song Is Born | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Written by | Billy Wilder (story) Thomas Monroe (story) Harry Tugend (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Starring | Danny Kaye Virginia Mayo Steve Cochran Benny Goodman Louis Armstrong |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date | 19 October 1948 |
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
A Song Is Born (1948) is a musical film remake of Ball of Fire, starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. It was directed by Howard Hawks from an original story by Billy Wilder, produced by Samuel Goldwyn and released by RKO Radio Pictures.
It featured a stellar supporting cast of musical legends, including Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Carter. Other notable musicians playing themselves in the cast include Charlie Barnet, Mel Powell, Harry Babasin, Al Hendrickson, and The Golden Gate Quartet. Other actors include Steve Cochran and Hugh Herbert.
Plot summary
Mild-mannered Professor Hobart Frisbee (Danny Kaye) and his fellow academics, among them Professor Magenbruch (Benny Goodman), are writing a musical encyclopedia. They become entangled in the problems of night club singer Honey Swanson (Virginia Mayo). She needs a place to hide out from the police, who want to question her about her gangster boyfriend Tony Crow (Steve Cochran). She invites herself into their sheltered household, over Frisbee's objections.
While there, she introduces them to the latest in jazz, with which they are unfamiliar, giving the film an excuse to feature many of the best musicians of the era. The songs they play include "A Song Is Born", "Daddy-O", "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", "Flying Home", and "Redskin Rumba".
Eventually, Tony comes by to collect Honey, but by that time, she and Hobart have fallen in love.
